Uh, sorry to ask this, but gotta make sure... You sure he isn't just last of the group and you'd see him if you scrolled down the map commander view? The down arrow has confused people before, it's quite hard to spot (to right of the bottom row of commanders displayed on map).
EDIT: and oh, I didn't know province count was THE big factor. Always thought the gem income and research were the graphs to look at. But you learn something each day. I'm relieved to know R'lyeh isn't the top dog after all. Canceling all the blights, then.
